Six vacant seats are to be filled on Thursday, with two defences apiece for the Tories and Reform, one for Labour and a free-for-all. For the second week in a row, three of the vacancies arose through the death of the incumbent.
Claremont, Blackpool Council
(Lab defence)
Triggered by the death of the 86-year-old incumbent. He was the UK's longest serving councillor at the time of his death, having served the same council ward for a continuous period of 53 years. He was also Labour's first Blackpool council leader, from 1991-2000, and the party has maintained control ever since. A fat lot of good that has done for this incredibly deprived ward just north of the town centre. Despite rampant social problems, voters backed Labour again in 2023, with their candidates securing more than twice the vote of the Conservatives. The ballot will be a crowded affair on Thursday, with candidates from the Greens, Reform and Restore Britain joining the fray. A new independent candidate is also standing for the first time.
Karl - Lab HOLD
Rich - Ref GAIN
Wick & East Caithness, Highland Council
(free-for-all, was Ind)
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, the first councillor to stand down in response to a very unsavoury scandal. He was one of six members on the council's licencing committee that voted to allow a convicted rapist - currently serving more than six years for raping a teenager in the back of his cab - to keep his taxi licence. Three others have also since resigned. This will be an interesting tussle in the most northern council ward on mainland Britain, that includes the famed village of John o'Groats. All three seats were up for grabs in 2022 and they were split between the Lib Dems, SNP and the disgraced incumbent. Another independent candidate is standing on Thursday, along with a newcomer from Reform, while Labour drop out altogether.
Karl - LDm GAIN
Rich - LDm GAIN
Long Whatton & Diseworth, North West Leicestershire District Council
(Con defence)
Triggered by the death of the 70-year-old incumbent, following a cancer battle. He had served an unbroken period of 27 years on the council, having initially been elected in the 1980s and regaining his seat in 1999. It was a three-horse race for this seat in 2023 and the incumbent improved his lead over Labour at a time in which the Tories were not particularly popular at large in the country. The ballot paper doubles in size on Thursday with newcomers from Reform, the Greens and Restore Britain.
Karl - Con HOLD
Rich - Ref GAIN
Amble, Northumberland County Council
(Ref defence)
Triggered by the sudden death of the 71-year-old incumbent, who had been elected to this semi-rural ward last year. Northumberland is very much a battleground between Reform and the Conservatives, with Reform emerging from last year's election just three seats behind the Tories. These stunning gains for Reform tipped the council into no overall control, but they have since slipped further behind the Tories as a result of expulsions, resignations, a by-election defeat and now death. They will surely not be helped on Thursday by the appearance of a Restore Britain candidate, the only newcomer, while second placed Labour could sneak in as a result of a three way split on the right.
Karl - Lab GAIN
Rich - Lab GAIN
Forth, Northumberland County Council
(Ref defence)
If the above Northumberland ward poses a tricky defence for Reform, then this one will be a mountain to climb. The trigger for this contest was the disqualification of the incumbent, who had failed to show up at a single council meeting in six months. He had been elected last year and like the above vacancy, it was a tight victory over Labour. However, he soon found himself without a party as he was expelled from Reform as a result of online remarks, which included an expressed desire to 'shoot Starmer' given the opportunity. Thursday's ballot paper will double in size, with newcomers from the Lib Dems, Restore Britain and an independent.
Karl - Lab GAIN
Rich - Lab GAIN
Forth & Endrick, Stirling Council
(Con defence)
Our second vacancy featuring the name 'Forth' was triggered by the death of the 76-year-old incumbent, who had been suffering from prostate cancer for the past two years. He won the second of three seats here in 2022, with the SNP topping the poll on first preferences. This is a vast sprawling council ward to the north of Glasgow that takes in much of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, including the banks of the famed loch itself. Seven candidates will contest the ward on Thursday, with Reform and the Greens joining the ballot. The Scottish Family Party, who finished last in 2022, are not standing.
Karl - SNP GAIN
Rich - Con HOLD
Going into this week, Richey leads Karl by six points in the head-to-head.
